Putting a Stake in the Eric Northman Death Rumors

Yesterday afternoon, with his usual flair for stirring the fandom pot, Michael Ausiello from TVLine dropped a hint that rocked the Eric Northman fans to their core when he said this:

Question: There are rumors that True Blood is going to kill off the gorgeous and sexy Eric Northam! Please tell me this isn’t true. He is one of the main reasons I watch. —Kelly
Ausiello: I can neither confirm or deny the rumors, but I can offer you two pieces of evidence that suggest such a twist is in the realm of possibility. The first one comes care of Joe Manganiello, who tells TVLine, “We’re getting to the point in the season now where people are starting to die. The table reads are starting to get smaller, and I’m sure they will continue to do that.” Exhibit B, meanwhile, arrives in the form of Episode 7′s title — “The Funeral.” Sorry I don’t have better news for you Kelly.

To even remotely suggest that Eric might be one of the dead undead is proof positive that ol’ Mike loves to cause trouble, leaving us to calm the waters.

Alexander Skarsgard is bound by a seven year contract with HBO and the show, as are the other leads. Given that this is only year 6, I think it’s safe to say that our favorite Viking vamp will be around at the close of season 6. Also, the showrunners are fully aware that Eric is a huge fan favorite and a lead character, none of which have bit the dust so far. Eric Northman is also a main character in all of the books which True Blood is based on and plays an important part in the developing story on the show.

If you read the answer carefully, you’ll see that the quote from Joe simply says that “people are starting to die”. No, really? On True Blood? While you recover from that supposed bombshell, consider this: nowhere does Joe say a main character is on the chopping block. Instead, remember the pattern of this series – to introduce new characters at the beginning of a season, then they start dropping like flies by the middle of the season (what they’re filming now). Also keep in mind that every. single. year. we get the supposedly stunning scoop that “someone important will die”, and it’s never been a lead character. Ever.

Please don’t let one link bait-y non-answer ruffle your feathers, Truebies! All is well in Northman-land.